


Sick Day

by naivephilosopher



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, F/F, Sickness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 14:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15753483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naivephilosopher/pseuds/naivephilosopher
Summary: Mae and Bea had some plans to go golfing, but when Bea doesn't show up, Mae goes to check on her. What happens next will warm your heart . . .





	Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for a year now so I just finished it off and here it is. God I love this ship so fucking much.

Sounds of a blaring fire alarm startled Mae awake. She scrambled around in her covers for a few seconds trying to get her bearings, but she eventually saw her laptop and remembered: This was just an alarm. Just a drill. Her reaction was probably sub-par, she thought. If that had been an actual alarm, she’d be toast for sure, but at least she was awake now.

For a moment, she thought it might have been a different day, but out the window was warm, dimming afternoon sky. The sun was getting close to the western horizon, but no stars were out yet. All of a sudden, she remembered why the alarm was set. She was supposed to go golfing with Bea, but looking at the clock, she realized she had over slept. Bea was supposed to be there in five minutes, and it was rare for her to be late. Panicking, she started to get her things together, but as she began putting her laptop away, she noticed a message from Bea:

**Hey**  
**Be over there a little late.**  
**Shouldn't be later than 5:30**  
**Sorry, just a bit of a hassle at the shop today**

Mae sighed and leaned back for a moment. Now she’d have time to make a sandwich, which was a great relief to her.

After she’d made her turkey sandwich, she went into the living room, which was empty at this time of the day. She greeted the couch and sat down, looking out the window for Bea’s car to pull up. Hopefully she’d have time enough to finish her sandwich.

Waiting always made Mae’s mind wander, and a single thought crossed her mind that made her lose herself in thought: Was Bea okay? Reflecting on that, Mae started to remember a few details that she’d dismissed while she was at the Pick Axe. Her eyes were heavy and she looked uneasy, somehow. She was also slouched over the counter, leaning in as they talked to each other and made plans, though her posture was normally great. Mae had been leaning on the counter too, her arms folded on the counter in front of her, and while they were talking, Bea had kind of . . . Casually put her hand on her arm. As far as she could tell, Bea hadn’t noticed that, but Mae’s face was burning the entire time.

A few more examples passed by her casually, but after a while she slowly began to fall out of her trance. Realizing that she’d been staring at a blank TV screen for some time indeterminate, she walked into the kitchen to check the clock. It was 5:40. Bea was late. This fueled Mae’s worry, causing her to ponder the situation further as she went upstairs to get her laptop.

She brought it downstairs and checked her message box, but saw nothing. A little more than antsy now, Mae sent a few messages, trying to see if there was something up:

**Hey, where’re you at?**  
**Is everything okay?**  
**You’re not lost, right?**

After a few minutes, there was no reply and she was worried. At five minutes till the hour, Mae put her laptop on the kitchen table and headed out the door. No sign of Bea’s car in front. Her first bet should be the Pick Axe, she thought as she ran down the block toward the store.

When she arrived, she saw the lights were off and the sign read “closed.” That should have told her enough, but she still pressed her face against the glass, trying to look for Bea inside. After about a minute of scanning and odd looks from passers-by, she determined it was empty inside, as she should have expected.

The next obvious place was her apartment. She’d already passed it before, but when she made it over, Bea’s car was out front. How had she not seen that the first time? She shook her head trying to dismiss the thought and went inside.

Thankfully, it seemed like Bea’s doorbell was still intact, so she rung it and waited.

A deep, groggy voice answered, “Hello? Who is this?”

“It’s Mae, Beatrice’s friend.” She answered, trying her best to sound polite, “Is she home?”

“Yes, she is. I take it you want to come up?” He asked.

Mae responded with a simple, “Yep!” Mr. Santello sent the elevator down, and Mae took it up to the Apartment. It seemed as if Bea’s father had just woken up and was ready to get back to sleep, so he just pointed Mae to Bea’s room.

Thanking him, Mae walked over to the door and gave it a few sharp raps. Bea’s voice answered from beyond the door, “Yeah?”

“It’s Mae!” Said Mae in a rather sing-song voice.

It was quiet for a second, and there was something muffled in the background that sounded almost like cursing. After a moment, that died down and Bea answered, “Come in.”

The door opened and the first thing she noticed was that the lights were off. Only the back light from the hall let her see Bea’s face, and it was clear she wasn’t well.

“Hey. Come in and close the door.” Bea said, and Mae noticed now her voice was a little raspy.

Mae gently shut the door behind her and carefully made her way over to where Bea’s bed was. Standing there in uncertainty, Mae asked, “You look a bit worse for wear . . .”

A Shh! sounded out from in front of her and Bea whisper-shouted, “Keep it down! Don’t let my dad hear you say that!”

For a moment, Mae was puzzled, and then it clicked, “Wait, your dad doesn’t know you’re sick? Why? What’s the matter?” Even though she was whispering, it was hard for her not to get louder with each question.

“It’s complicated,” She explained, “I think he has some kind of post-traumatic stress about illness. Any time I get even just a cold he freaks out and tries to send me to the hospital and everything. He’s afraid I’ll die or something.”

Hearing this, Mae was confounded. “Oh. Wow, holy crap.” She said, still trying to whisper.

“I know. Just, he can’t know.” Bea sniffled and continued, “Sorry about mini-golf, by the way. I guess we’ll have to—”

“Bea?” Mae said, cutting her off.

“Yeah?”

“I literally could not care less about mini-golf right now. You’re effin’ sick on a Friday. A Friday! That’s just pathetic. But I’m here for you now and that’s what matters.” Mae’s hands were in the air at this point, though the emphasis was lost in the dark.

“Thanks, Mae.” Bea said. She turned to smother a coughing fit in her blanket. After she was done coughing, she laid her head on her pillow and said, “You should probably go, though. I don’t think you want to get sick.”

“Pffft.” Mae responded tactfully.

“Mae, I can handle being sick for a day or two, it’s no big deal, I swear. I don’t even have work tomorrow.” She pleaded.

Mae didn’t respond. Silent as she could, she moved to what she thought was Bea’s head and licked. What she found was obviously a blanket.

“Uhh, what was that on my leg?” Bea asked, concerned.

“Oh.” Was all she said in response. Moving to the left, she listened for a second, determined that was where Bea’s head was _for sure_ and proceeded to lick again. This time, she felt a smooth, rather warm surface and knew that she had at least partially succeeded.

“Um, excuse me?” Bea said. She’d recoiled slightly towards her wall and away from Mae.

“I got myself sick too!” Mae said in an excited whisper, as if that were anything good.

The silence in the room spelled out how absolutely dumbfounded Bea was.There was some shuffling and the sound of something bulky being taken out from under the bed, After the noise had settled down, Bea began talking, “Here, you can hang out here and use my laptop. There’s a beanbag somewhere, you can use that. I guess you’re going to be here a while, so you may as well get comfortable.”

Mae grabbed the laptop bag from her and stood there for a moment, surprised that that had actually worked. “I didn’t think I’d get this far,” She said, looking for the beanbag with her feet, “but I think I should say thank you? Yeah, thanks.”

“Well,” Bea sighed, “I guess you’re keeping me company, so thanks for that.

Her lips curled up in a grin and she said, “Anything for you, Bea.”

Bea rasped out a small laugh and got comfy in her bed. “I’m probably gonna sleep. My dad shouldn’t come in here because he’s doing the same. There’s a cooler under my bed with some water and saltines, but please don’t eat them all.”

Mae gave a quick _Mhm!_ In acknowledgment, sat down, and opened up the laptop. Bea was a quiet sleeper, even when sick. All that she could hear was Bea’s breathing and the whir of the laptop fan.

Light poured into the room now from the laptop, now illuminating Bea’s form slightly. Mae could see the rise and fall of her chest and was almost compelled to keep watching her rather than the laptop. She didn’t want to be a creep, but there was just something peaceful in seeing her rest. After a moment, the guilt caught up to her and she glanced back down to the screen.

Hours of web surfing and blog perusal later, Mae was starting to feel sleepy. The problem was that the beanbag was beginning to hurt her back, making sleep almost unattainable. Maintaining any sort of focus on the computer was also becoming increasingly difficult with every readjustment she had to make.

She closed the laptop, resisting the urge to slam it shut in frustration only barely. Setting it to the side, she tried to curl up as best as she could in the loose cushion. Every time she breathed, though, she felt herself shift ever so slightly. Soon, she became even more infuriated. Mae sat up, exhausted and upset.

It was still dark, so Mae opened the laptop again so the back light would illuminate the room. Too late, she realized that the screen was pointing at Bea’s bed. Her eyes squinted and she began to stir, so Mae turned the laptop away and hoped Bea hadn’t woken up. She kept her eyes locked on Bea’s silhouette as she rose slightly, indicating that Bea was at least somewhat awake.

“Sorry!” Mae said in a hushed whisper.

Bea was motionless for a second and then looked toward Mae. She sighed and started laying back down.  
“Hey, Bea, before you go back to sleep, do you have anywhere more . . . Comfortable to sleep?” Mae said, hoping to catch her before she knocked out again.

“Nope.” She replied in a gritty voice.

“No extra blankets or anything?” Mae pushed.

“Just this one, Mae.” Bea said, her voice a little more clear now.

Mae hesitated for a moment, not sure where to go next. She decided on, “We could, like, share that one maybe?”

For a solid minute, Bea didn’t reply, making Mae think she had fallen asleep. That was fair, she guessed.

Then, suddenly, Bea shuffled about in her bed. It was hard to be sure what she was doing, so Mae just kept squinting at the amorphous ball of lizard and blanket. Eventually she settled down and sighed.

“If you push me off or hog the blanket, you’re on the floor.” She said. Even though she was sick, she was still as fiery as she’d ever been.

“You know, you’re the best, Bea.” Mae said, walking toward the bed. “So, you wanna do this head-to-toe or what?”

“Oh my god, I literally do not care, just go to sleep.” Bea said, rolling over toward the wall.

Mae paused for a moment to try to figure out what to do here and concluded that she really wanted a pillow. She slipped in under the blanket and turned over so her back was facing Bea’s.

“Night, Beebee.” Mae said in a whisper.

Bea seemed to be asleep once again, but as Mae began to lose consciousness, she heard a muffled, “You too, Mayday.” And she was fast asleep.

***

Slightly, slowly, and comfortably, Mae came back into consciousness. She felt very warm and groggy. The room around her was still dark, which made it harder to recolloect where she was, or even how much time had passed. Trying to get back to sleep, Mae started to roll over, only to find that something was stopping her. Reaching up to her belly where the opposing force was, , she felt warm, scaled arms wrapped around her. As she realized this, her face suddenly grew warmer. Bea had rolled over and was holding her like a stuffed animal.

As she came to this realization, she felt a warm puff of breath wash over the back of her head as Bea exhaled.

 _This is fine, Mae. This is good, even. It’s just like a hug, right? A long, sleepy hug?_ She thought to herself. What was she even supposed to do? If she was being honest with herself, this was totally okay with her, but what about Bea? These two questions swirled around her head that they felt like a million questions.

Bea’s head moved on the pillow, and Mae felt her fingers dig into her belly a little. _Bea, why do you do this to me?_ Mae shouted in her mind. She let out a sigh and tried to calm herself down. Maybe she should just enjoy this. It was a rare opportunity.

Mae wrapped her hands around Bea’s at her belly. Her skin was warm and bumpy, an odd but pleasant sensation. Slowly and carefully, she wiggled in closer so she was snug against her smooth body. Funny, she was expecting . . . Clothes. _Shit,_ was all she could get through her head before she felt movement. Bea was, apparently, moving in closer too.

The pounding in Mae’s chest wouldn’t stop, and she was mildly afraid it would wake Bea up. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t calm it down. She could scream if she knew it wouldn’t wake up the slumbering body beside her.

A few minutes passed and Mae’s heart slowly started to calm down from the shock, but her mind was still buzzing. To further complicate things, she could already feel the fever pains setting in. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. This ordeal was very taxing, and in a way she never thought she’d be taxed.

“Good night again, Beebee.” Mae whispered so that Bea wouldn’t have heard her if she were awake.  
What could be better than this? That very question was to be explored to its depths as Mae closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

***

Bea woke with a start. For a moment, she didn’t even register where she was, she just knew she felt terrible. When she became somewhat cohesive, she looked felt around her bed, searching for a cigarette. Her hands began moving about aimlessly until she realized why her cigarettes weren’t on her bed: Mae was there. More than that, Mae was wrapped around her under the covers. They were facing each other, and Mae’s heavy, fuzzy legs were between hers.

A slight smile drew across her face and she sighed. Biting the bullet on her cigarette craving, she wrapped her arms around the black lump. Her chin came to rest on Mae’s forehead. After some deliberation, Bea allowed herself to briefly press her lips to the cat’s forehead before returning her chin there. Now, as slowly as she could manage, she fell asleep. Her dreams were pleasant and warm.

***

Two bodies slumbered soundly under a thin sheet through the night. Both were feverish, and their bodies ached from their illness, but each knew the other was there, which was comforting.

A blaring alarm woke them both around 5:30AM, thrusting them into the waking world. Bea promptly turned off the alarm with a practiced movement, and returned it to Mae’s shoulder. Mae, knowing full well that Bea was awake now, became aware of how close the two of them were and gasped.

“Bea, I—” she started, but was quickly cut off. Bea’s finger pressed against her lips.

“Shh, I know.” Bea whispered.

Mae was too shocked and confused to try and continue. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly agape.

“I, uh . . . I don’t think I’m well enough to go to work today. Plus, I don’t want any of my employees getting sick by me.” She said, exaggerating how weary her voice was.

“Okay . . .” Was all Mae could manage in response.

“I’m just gonna . . . Stay in bed all day. You can hang out too. If you want, that is.”

There was a long pause, and the silence was crushing both of them.

It felt like an hour had passed before Mae finally spoke, “So . . . Is this gonna be like . . . A thing now?”

“Uh, I guess?” Bea didn’t know what to say anymore than Mae did, which felt like a first. “You wanna go back to sleep?”

“I think so. But I also don’t want this to be a fever dream.” She replied.

Bea was quiet again for a second, and then Mae felt a sharp pain on her hip.

“Ow!” Mae yelped. “What was that about?”

“Well, I’m making sure it’s not a dream for you.” She said in a dry and sarcastic tone.

Mae didn’t reply. Bea could feel her head moving slightly, nodding as if in approval. Then, suddenly, she felt a pinch too, but a little lower than where she had pinched Mae.

“Ahh! Mae!” Bea whisper-shouted.

Mae giggled quietly and coughed a little bit. “What? Retaliation must be stronger than the initial offense!” She said.

“Wow.” Was all she could reply with.

Mae was silent, but Bea knew she was smiling.

“Glad to know this wasn’t a dream then.” Said Bea.

“Mhm . . .” Muttered a sleepy Mae. She put a single paw on Bea’s face and said, “I’m glad I got to touch your butt.”

“Oh god,” Bea said, “Go to sleep, Mae, you obviously need it.”

Mae was already sound asleep before Bea could finish her sentence. Gently, she pulled her soft body a little closer. Right now, she could feel feverish chills racing through her bones. The warmth from Mae’s body was a comforting relief. She held on tight to her and slowly let herself lose consciousness.


End file.
